Big News with the Holidays on the Way!

It's truly amazing how God works. With all of the changes in our adoption lately, I have felt like the only thing that would hold us back would be raising funds... which is heart breaking.

Well...God is good and is using the most amazing people to help us!

Honestly, it is so humbling to be blessed by people that are SO selfless.

In the month of November, I have 5 different fundraisers that will be taking place. And... I only planned one of them. How amazing? God is so so good.

Do you LOVE the holidays as much as I do? The Thanksgiving food, the Christmas spirit, the lights, the smells, Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh... I just love it!

Well with the holidays coming up, these fundraisers couldn't come at a better time! AND they are some AWESOME fundraisers!!

Are you ready??? Drumroll please........

1. On November 3rd AND November 4th, I am having TWO different Noonday parties!!! Yay! I just LOVE Noonday! If you can come to one of the parties that would be awesome. If not, you can order by going HERE!!! Enter Powell Adoption as your trunk show name.

2. Laura Beth Lamb, who serves alongside her husband and 2 little boys, as a missionary in the Dominican Republic, will be donating her commission for a THIRTY-ONE party in November! Their personalized bags, duffles, suitcases, makeup bags, etc. are perfect Christmas gifts for anyone! The party will open up on the first!

I just can't tell you how thankful I am to have such God fearing people supporting this journey that truly are models for putting others before themselves to serve God. It's amazing all the ways I have seen God through this journey.

3. WHO WANTS TO BE FIT?!? Ever heard of HipHop Abs, Insanity, P90X, Shakeology, Brazil Butt Lift or Slim in 6?! For the month of November, 50% OF YOUR PURCHASE towards BEACHBODY products goes towards bringing our baby girl home!! I am SO SO excited about this fundraiser!

Get fit during the holidays instead of putting on extra pounds! Have your own BeachBody coach! Clair Jenkins has been beyond gracious to do this fundraiser for us! You can visit HERE FOR BEACHBODY or HERE FOR SHAKEOLOGY!This flyer gives a little bit more information about it:

4. Keep collecting your change at the end of the day in your little houses! We are praying for great things to happen with these little houses!

Can you see the way God is working to bring Matsy Grace home the way I can? It has truly been unbelievable. Every day last week I felt like I was having deja vu because I was calling my husband saying, "You aren't going to believe how blessed we are. Guess who volunteered to help us today?!  or Guess what money we received today?!"

God is good. God is gracious.

The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. -Psalm 145:8

Whirlwind of Changes

In my last post, I mentioned some changes in our adoption. I know that left some of you hanging, so I wanted to recap what the last month or so has meant for us bringing Matsy Grace home. I'll try to give the best description I can of our life for the past 2 months.

About 2 months ago, my heart began to hurt for the Congo. I have met a few people adopting from the Congo, but never really thought about adopting from their. I began researching the Congo, realizing the hurt and devastation going on in that nation. I began to pray for the Congolese people, those adopting from the Congo, and the kids there. Several weeks later, I came across fell in love with a little girl on the waiting child list from the Congo. I text my husband a picture and asked him to start praying about her. I really thought this could be our daughter. I contacted the agency she was with, got all of her information, and told them I was going to pray about it. Not knowing much about the agency, I started e-mailing anyone I could find that had used the agency. Unfortunately, I didn't hear great things. I kept praying. I'm still praying for that little girl. I couldn't get a peace about using that agency. My heart was broken. It's so hard to look at the face of a child, know their story, and not bring her home.

God had different plans.

Still praying for the Congo, I wasn't sure what we were supposed to do. I contacted a few agencies with programs in the Congo just to gather information. We have been married a little over 4 years, and the Congo program technically says you should be married 5 years to adopt from there. Many times, they will give you permission if you are close to the 5 year mark. However, with the agency we really liked, they said they would only accept couples that had been married 5 years. She asked if I was interested in their Ethiopia program. I said, "Not really, but you can tell me about it if you would like." Well......

In the meantime, the Congo closed exit permits. I feel sure that God knew that there would be people sitting in the Congo that needed my prayers. They are there to bring home their children- but they can't until the government their decides to issue exit permits again- which could be up to a year. Through learning about their conditions, I have learned to hurt with them. Isn't it amazing how we can talk to God and plead with him for help for people literally on the other side of the world!?!

We prayed more...

And we are switching agencies.

We are still adopting from Ethiopia. And that is where our Matsy Grace lives. We have a peace about that and are so thankful that God has made it evident the decisions we should make when we asked for His guidance.

The biggest change is the timeline. This process moves faster with our new agency. They are much smaller than our old agency.

This is the biggest part of the emotional rollercoaster that adoption can often bring.

Our family is about to GROW again! However, we thought we would have about 3 years to raise the necessary funds. Now it's looking like the whole process will take 12-15 months... to be HOME... and several fees are due along the way.

It's so sad to a mommy that money is the biggest obstacle to bringing a child home. I had a blog post in my head called The Fundraising Blues. That's how I feel these days. But, God always gives you comfort when you need it, and my adoption friend McCall couldn't have expressed it any better in her blog post Friday. I know that some people don't agree with adoption, and definitely don't agree with fundraising for adoption. And that is ok. It is hard for me to wrap my head around most days. But as for me and my family, we are going to serve the Lord. And the Lord has planted in us a love for a child that doesn't have parents to show her the love of Jesus. A child that lives in Africa. A child that lives in Ethiopia to be exact.

And we are going to bring her home.

So... please bear with me over the next several months as I drive you crazy with fundraisers on the blog. God is such a great provider, and I can't tell you how blessed we have already been financially in funding this adoption. He has provided every milestone we have needed to fund. It has seriously been nothing short of miraculous.

But there's more coming. BIG milestones. We are excited, humbled, and putting aside our pride.

Please join us. We need your prayers. We need you before we bring Matsy Grace home. We need you after we bring her home.

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. -Psalm 32:8

A person's steps are directed by the Lord. How then can anyone understand their own way? -Proverbs 20:24

When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. - John 16:13a

Do YOU Want a HOME?!?

"Father of orphans, champion of widows, is God in his holy house. God makes HOMES for the homeless..." Psalm 68:5-6 (MSG)

Ok, well I'm not sure where to start. I'll just say there will be posts to follow about some changes/updates in our adoption journey! We are beyond excited about these changes!

We are prayerful and optimistic that at this point, it looks like this journey will move along a good bit faster than we had anticipated! EXCITING, RIGHT?!?

The answer is YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

With that brief info... here's where we need YOU!!

We would like to send you a HOME to help bring our baby girl HOME!

Here's how it will work... you give me your e-mail (you can leave a comment, Facebook me, email me at tiffanipowell7 at yahoo dot com, Instagram me, text me, whatever you want to do!). I will then e-mail you a printable of a HOME!

You then get your scissors, glue/tape, and get busy! (We hope you will get your kiddos involved too!!!) Build (aka cut out and piece together) your HOME! Cut a slit in the roof, and for the month of November, fill your HOME with your spare change at the end of the day!

All of the money from this fundraiser to bring Matsy Grace HOME is due DECEMBER 2!!!

If you send me your e-mail, you will get all of the details on how to get the money to us.

Please join us in praying that the Lord continues to bless us on our journey!

***We ask that if you are allowing your children to take part, that you explain to them that there are many children who don't have a HOME. Ask them to pray for those in your cities and across the world who don't have a mommy and daddy!***

Your home will look just like the one Noah just built...

So... start sending those e-mail addresses...... NOW!!

Short Sleeve, LONG Sleeve AND Tanks!!!

Ok... our LAST t-shirt order of the year is coming up!! We are really praying the Lord will bless our adoption financially through this order! We have been so blessed by our t-shirt fundraiser already!! (Mostly because of our awesome designer, Eric Abbott!!) It's been a crazy and exciting year in our house. We may try to squeeze in one more fundraiser before the end of the year, but this will definitely be our last t-shirt order this year!!

And.... This will be THE ONLY ORDER where we will have LONG SLEEVE TEES AND TANKS available!!!

The order deadline is NOVEMBER 1st!!! Don't miss it!

A few specifics:

Sizes:
Tanks: Adult Sizes Small- 2XL (No Kids Sizes)
Short Sleeve: Youth XS-XL and Adult Small-4XL
Long Sleeve: Youth XS-XL and Adult Small- 4XL

Price:
$15 Short Sleeve
$20 Tanks (FYI I had no clue tanks would cost more than short sleeve tees! Doesn't make since in my head either!)
$20 Long Sleeve Tees
***Add $1.50 for 2XL and Larger***

Shipping:
$3/shirt! 

Ordering Information:
1. You can give a check or cash to me
2. You can mail a check to 118 Appleridge Dr., Brandon, MS 39047
3. You can pay online by clicking the Donate button on the right of this blog! Make sure you put size and shipping if needed as a special instruction!

Thank you SO much for blessing our daughter through your donation to our t-shirt fundraiser!!